COPD Flashcards
Define COPD.
- Progressive, partially reversible airway obstruction, which leads to air-trapping and lung hyperinflation
What rank is COPD in causes of death in Canada?
- 4th
What is the pathophysiological hallmark of COPD?
- Expiratory flow limitation
What are risk factors for COPD? (DFCM/GOLD)
- Exposure
- Tobacco smoke (includes cigarettes, pipe, cigar)
- Indoor air pollution (biomass fuel used for cooking and heating in poorly vented dwelling)
- Occupational dusts and chemicals
- Outdoor air pollution
- Perinatal or Childhood illness (e.g. low birth weight, respiratory infections)
- Atopy
- Social factors
- Host
- Genetics (e.g. alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency)
- Gender
- Airway (e.g. severe asthma)
What are 6 comorbidities commonly seen in patients with COPD? (GOLD)
- Cardiovascular disease
- Osteoporosis
- Depression and Anxiety
- Skeletal muscle dysfunction
- Metabolic syndrome
- Lung cancer
According to the GOLD report 2016, are cardioselective beta-blockers contraindicated in COPD? (GOLD)
- No (i.e. not contraindicated)
What is the most frequent cause of death in patients with mild COPD? (GOLD)
- Lung cancer
What are the symptoms and investigations compatible with the diagnosis of COPD?
- Symptoms
- Dyspnea at rest or on exertion
- Cough with or without sputum production
- Progressive limitation of activity
- Spirometry
- FEV1/FVC ratio less than 0.70 or less than the lower limit of normal
- Incompletely reversible with inhaled bronchodilator
- Absence of an alternative explanation for the symptoms and airflow limitation
What is the ratio FEV1/FVC in normal adults? (GOLD)
- Between 0.70 and 0.80
What are 4 factors that FEV1 is influenced by? (GOLD)
- Age
- Sex
- Height
- Ethnicity
What is the youngest age at which children are usually able to cooperate with PFT procedures? (AFP)
- 5 years
What 3 factors must be confirmed before PFT results can be reliably interpreted? (AFP)
- Volume-time curve reaches a plateau, and expiration lasts at least 6 seconds
- Results of the 2 best efforts on the PFT are within 0.2 L of each other
- The flow-volume loops are free of artifacts and abnormalities
What are the 8 steps to interpreting a PFT results? (AFP)
- Determine if the FEV1/FVC ratio is low
- Determine if the FVC is low
- Confirm the restrictive pattern
- Grade the severity of the abnormality
- Determine the reversibility of the obstructive defect
- Bronchoprovocation
- Establish the differential diagnosis
- Compare current and prior PFT results
What are the different criteria for a low FEV1/FVC ratio? (AFP)
- GOLD
- < 70%
- National Asthma Education and Prevention Program
- < 85% (children 5 to 18 years of age)
- ATS
- LLN (<5%ile based on NHANES III)
Which criteria should be used to diagnose obstructive lung disease? (AFP)
- GOLD = 65+ with smoking history (current or previous)
- ATS = <65 or 65+ nonsmokers
What is considered a low FVC on spirometry? (AFP)
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For patients whose initial PFT result indicates a restrictive pattern, what should be done? (AFP)
- Referral for PFTs with DLCO testing (diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide testing)
What test needs to be done before performing a DLCO test? (AFP)
- Baseline hemoglobin
How does the ATS grade severity of a PFT abnormality? (AFP)
Severity
FEV1 % of predicted
Mild
>70
Moderate
60 to 69
Moderately severe
50 to 59
Severe
35 to 49
Very severe
<35
What are the criteria for reversibility of an obstructive defect on PFTs? (AFP)
- +12% in patients 5 to 18 years of age
- +12% and +200mL in adults
If a PFT result is normal but exercise- or allergen-induced asthma is still suspected, what tests can be performed? (AFP)
- Bronchoprovocation
- Methacholine challenge
- Mannitol inhalation challenge
- Exercise testing
- Eucapnic voluntary hyperpnea testing
What is the difference in test accuracy between methacholine and mannitol? (AFP)
- Methacholine = Highly sensitive but low specificity (FP results)
- Mannitol = Lower sensitivity but higher specificity (FN results)
What is a differential diagnosis for obstructive lung disease? (AFP)
- Alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency
- Asthma
- Bronchiectasis
- Bronchiolitis obliterans
- COPD
- Cystic fibrosis
- Silicosis (early)
What is a differential diagnosis for restrictive lung disease? (AFP)
- Chest wall
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Kyphosis
- Morbid obesity
- Scoliosis
- Drugs (adverse reaction)
- Amiodarone
- Methotrexate
- Nitrofurantoin
- Interstitial lung disease
- Asbestosis
- Berylliosis
- Eosinophilic pneumonia
- Hypersensitivity pneuomonitis
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- Sarcoidosis
- Silicosis (late)
- Neuromuscular disorders
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Guillain-Barre syndrome
- Muscular dystrophy
- Myasthenia gravis






